Review: Flames Over Frosthelm

  • Title:
    • Flames Over Frosthelm
  • Author:
    • Dave Dobson
  • Release:
    • July 22, 2021
  • Format:
    • Audiobook
  • Narrator:
    • Simon de Deney
  • Series:
    • Inquisitors’ Guild, Book 1

This is a really long book. I’ve been listening to it for the last couple of days. It’s been an enjoyable few days for sure, but I’m very ready to move on to anything else.

The storytelling reminds me a lot of Bloodlines Reforged saga. It feels like a “buddy cop” (inquisitor) story set in a medieval fantasy world. It’s comedic at times, but it’s not a comedy. The characters are likable, determined, loyal, persistent. Despite bumbling around from one terrible situation to the next, they just keep going. Gotta give ’em credit for that.

The book rarely feels like it has a primary story. It kinda takes a back seat as the protagonists just keep moving from one encounter to another. Think of it like a TV series where the main plot plays out in the background over a number of episodes.

The author did a great job describing the world. The world and the combat are extremely descriptive. Often times I’d pause randomly, do other stuff or sleep for a few hours and pick up where I left off. The world is so well described, I was always quickly able to remember where I was in the story without missing a beat.

I did have to hear the narrator say “onvelope” one too many times. I’m going to lazily recycle this bit of my review from All Your Twisted Secrets: The narrator repeatedly says “onvelope” which drives me crazy. Envelope – envelop. If something were to be enveloped in darkness, you wouldn’t say onveloped in darkness. If you think I’m being nitpicky, you’re goddamn right I am! I can’t stand when people who are supposed to be professional narrators mispronounce basic words. Just search my blog for my mentions of “acrosst”, “carmel” or “farmiliar” to see other examples. I’m getting seriously sick of listening to people mispronounce basic words.

Aside from that annoyance, the character voices are all top-notch. They’re easy to tell apart, each character has their own, distinct voice to fit their personality. The narrator did occasional (rare) sound effects which were nice for immersion, but so rare that it seemed pointless. Maybe sound effects is the wrong word. When a character was spitting out grass or dirt (can’t remember), he made a spitting noise to accompany it instead of just saying it.

NOTE: This copy was provided to me free of charge as a digital review copy. The opinions stated in this review are mine and mine alone, I was not paid or requested to give this book a certain rating, suggestion, or approval.

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